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New Mexico State University student places ninth in writing contest

New Mexico State University journalism student Heath Haussamen received ninth place in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation In-Depth Writing Competition.

New Mexico State University journalism student Heath Haussamen received ninth place in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation In-Depth Writing Competition.

Haussamen's achievement will earn him $500. The university's journalism program will receive a matching grant from the Hearst Foundation.

The story Haussamen entered was one of the many he has written on the continuing controversy over compensation provided by the Las Cruces School Board to former superintendent Jesse L. Gonzales. He has been covering the story for the Las Cruces Sun-News since it broke last October.

Haussamen has worked for the Sun-News for a year and a half. For the past 10 months, he has covered the Las Cruces schools and law enforcement full-time while working part-time on his journalism degree at the university.

He was the media relations director for the Associated Students of New Mexico State University during the 2000-2001 academic year and editor-in-chief of the Round Up, the student newspaper, during the 1999-2000 academic year.

Although uncertain of when he will graduate, the one thing Haussamen is certain of is that writing will play a part in his future.

"I know I was born to write, so that's what I do," he said. "It's fulfilling and spiritual for me."